Video coverage of an event, such as a major sporting event, generally requires a substantial investment in both planning and resources. Events can include critical actions that occur at various times and locations during the course of an event, such that the focus of coverage switches from one location to another with minimal delay. Some examples of venues hosting events that are routinely covered by broadcasters include sporting arenas, stadiums, and winter venues, such as ski and snowboarding jumps and race courses.
A broadcast network covering such events typically requires multiple cameras at various locations to ensure that a sufficient quality of coverage can be provided at a particular venue. Multiple cameras provide simultaneous video coverage from positions that may be fixed or mobile during the course of the event. Such overlapping coverage of an event allows broadcast producers to alternatively select video segments from among the different video feeds as may be beneficial according to a natural and sometimes unanticipated progression of the event.
In addition to provisioning multiple cameras, preparation for a covered event may require a satellite broadcast terminal. This would be particularly true for live coverage of the event. The satellite broadcast terminal allows for a relay of video from one or more of the cameras to a media production facility, which produces programmed coverage for broadcast viewers. Consequently, additional communications infrastructure is also used to, for example, interconnecting the cameras to the satellite terminal and to provide power, control and the like. Even with such elaborate preparations, coverage of a particular turn of events may be from an inferior vantage point or missed altogether.